Course Approval

Lafayette-Led Interim Programs

All Lafayette-led interim program courses are pre-approved by the appropriate Lafayette department. Students do not need to do anything to have their Lafayette-led interim course(s) approved.

Lafayette-Led Semester Programs

For Lafayette-led semester programs (i.e. Lafayette in Bremen, Costa Rica, London, or Madrid), students will need to obtain the “Committee on Academic Progress Affiliated Off Campus/Study Abroad Authorization” form from the Registrar’s Office.

Complete the top portion of the form with the appropriate information.

Students will write in any courses that they will be taking with a Lafayette professor (typically there is 1 such course per program). Students do not need to obtain a signature for this course, however it must still be included on the form as it is part of their plan of study for the semester.

Students will write in and get approved by the appropriate Department Head all other courses they will/may be taking with the program. The only exception to this rule is that some engineering-related courses, such as Differential Equations, are pre-approved for the engineering-based semester programs. Non-pre-approved courses must have a Department Head signature in order to transfer back to Lafayette. To gain the appropriate signature, students should print out the course syllabus/syllabi and meet with the appropriate Department Head at the Course Approval Session event (see below for information). If students do not know what the appropriate department is for a given course, please contact the Registrar’s Office for guidance.

After completing the course approval section of the form, students will sign the form and then have their Academic Adviser(s) sign the form.

Once the form is complete and ALL other signatures are obtained, students will submit the form to the Office of International and Off-Campus Education. After submitting, the Director of International & Off-Campus Education will review the form, sign, and transfer the form to the Registrar’s Office for their records.

Affiliated Semester Programs

For affiliated semester programs (i.e. BU Sydney Internship, IES Argentina, IFSA-Butler University College London, etc.), students will obtain the “Committee on Academic Progress Affiliated Off Campus/Study Abroad Authorization” form from the Registrar’s Office.

Complete the top portion of the form with the appropriate information.

Students will write in and get approved by the appropriate Department Head all courses they will/may be taking with the program. These courses must have a Department Head signature in order to transfer back to Lafayette. To gain the appropriate signature, students should print out the course syllabus/syllabi and meet with the appropriate Department Head at the Course Approval Session event (see below for information). If students do not know what the appropriate department is for a given course, please contact the Registrar’s Office for guidance.

After completing the course approval section of the form, students will sign the form and then have their Academic Adviser(s) sign the form.

Once the form is complete and ALL other signatures are obtained, you will submit the form to the Office of International and Off-Campus Education. After submitting, the Director of International & Off-Campus Education will review the form, sign, and transfer the form to the Registrar’s Office for their records.

External Interim Programs

For non-Lafayette based winter or summer programs, students will need to obtain the “Committee on Academic Progress Off Campus Study Authorization Summer/Interim/Miscellaneous” form from the Registrar’s Office.

Complete the top portion of the form with the appropriate information.

Students will write in and get approved by the appropriate Department Head all courses they will/may be taking with the program. These courses must have a Department Head signature in order to transfer back to Lafayette. To gain the appropriate signature, they should print out the course syllabus/syllabi and meet with the appropriate Department Head at the Course Approval Session event (see below for information). If students do not know what the appropriate department is for a given course, please contact the Registrar’s Office for guidance.

After completing the course approval section of the form, students will sign the form and then have their Academic Adviser(s) sign the form.

Once the form is complete and ALL signatures are obtained, students will submit the form directly to the Registrar’s Office.

Course Approval Session

The Course Approval Session event takes place twice a year (in November for all students going abroad/off-campus in winter/spring and in April for all students going abroad/off-campus in summer/fall – dates/times are announced to the appropriate students). At this session, many of the Department Heads will be available to review course syllabi and sign off on appropriate courses. The Registrar’s Office will also be available to provide any necessary course approval forms and help guide student questions. It is important that students bring to the event a printed copy of the syllabus for each course they are hoping to get approved. If a student is unable to attend the event or if the appropriate department is not present at the event, they should then work to schedule individual appointments with each Department Head from whom they need signatures.

If, while abroad, a student decides to enroll in a course not previously approved for transfer to Lafayette, they can see the Changing Courses While Abroad page for detailed information on having courses approved while abroad.

Common Course of Study Attributes Approval

For all Common Course of Study attributes, students will follow the appropriate steps outlined above in order to have the course approved to transfer back to Lafayette. In addition to the steps above, students will obtain the “Application for Abroad/Transfer Credit to Count Towards Common Course of Study” cover sheet from the Registrar’s Office (also found on the Forms page). Students will complete the form, attach a printed copy of the syllabus for the course they’d like approved, and submit the form to the Registrar’s Office. Once the approval request is reviewed, Registrar will provide the student with a response to their request.

**Please note for Lafayette-led interim programs, each program/course is already pre-approved for certain Common Course of Study attributes and so students SHOULD NOT submit Common Course of Study approval requests for these programs. Students can find the designated Common Course of Study attributes near the top of each program’s brochure page (which one can find the links to on the Interim Programs page). Not all programs will have Common Course of Study attributes designated to them and it is important that each student does not assume they will gain Common Course of Study credit by participating in an interim program.